Exercise?

This forum is for dog lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitute for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your dog.

I drive 20 minutes to take my dog to this great place around here, we usually spend an hour and a half to two hours there, twice a week. We love it there! A lot of other people take their dogs there too, so we meet up with a bunch of other people to meet and play with. This area is not a dog park, but is left very natural and is away from the city and busy roads. It has a wooded parts, grassy parts, and several ponds and tons to explore. If you can find an area like this, it would be great for you dog! Especially if you can find water, since most labs LOVE water, and this place I go to I always see other dogs swimming and jumping in and out of the water. The owners say it's great exercise for them and really wears them out. I don't know if you would be able to find anything like this, but keep a look out. Ask local dog owners where they take their dogs to get exercise, and meet up with some of them to play!

Yeah, I would love to find a place like that. In fact, there's a lake just down the road from us. It's only 2-5 miles away. When it's warm again, I'll probably take Sassy and Koda there. I'll need to work on Sassy's off leash behaviors first though (Koda I can never trust off leash at all)

Usually the courts and skate parks say no dogs but we've never had a problem with anyone stopping us, in fact neighbors and their dogs have been known to join us. Just be super responsible about cleaning up poop and of course giving up the court to any humans who want to use it.

I let Sanka off leash at a tee-ball field. I make sure to walk him around beforehand so he does his business before we get to the field. Baseball doesn't go on this time of year though, so I don't worry about messing up the infield. I don't go on the field when they start playing though.

I also rollerblade with my dogs. It's great! Great release for a dog that just wants to let loose.

so here is what i do. for one it is very difficult to tire a lab for an extended period. at that age as mentioned allready it is important to limit the type of play ie, jumping, climbing etc. your best friend right now is her prey drive. she likes to play fetch, play fetch alot. couple that with mental stimulation and playing with koda and your dog will get plenty tired. a suggestion for koda, well it would actually work with both or them. get a 50 ft leash and let em run. being next to a busy street with a pup that young i would not trust being out in the unfenced area. cuz, no matter how well you dog is trained at this point she is still young and a dog will be a dog and cars go fast and are made of metal. an accident can happen in a blink of an eye. trust me, its no fun. the tennis court idea is a good one. i don't know why i havent thought of it before. lol. good luck

Yeah, we won't let her off the leash often any more. We used to never chain her up when she was out but now she's been getting a little more... I don't know how to put it but I guess she's more of an 'bark and chase anyone I don't know' type of dog now. If somebody's walking down the dirt road a few houses over, she's barking at them. In a way, this is alright to me because I'll know when someone's at my house but I think I'll need to start training her not to bark so much...

Koda would love the long leash, I think. It might stop some of the aggression he's been showing lately as well. Thank you!

I amn ot a big fan of forced physical exercise for a puppy until they are at least 18 months old. I just take my puppies for walks and let them play in the back yard as much as they want. But I never force then to overdo it and I also give them a day of rest at least once a week. I do this with all my dogs. I run with the older ones, and a day of recovery is good for them just to keep from over doing things.